“We’re going to see some of the most aggressive advertising for beef cuts of all types because (retailers) are striving to not just be competitive with their profits, but they’re also competing for market share,” said Lance Zimmerman, manager of research, analysis and data for Cattle Fax, a beef-industry research group.

“The consumers are going to win and the consumers are going to win in a big way this year,” Zimmerman said.

Some might say it’s about time. As the beef supply has replenished in recent years, the drop in cattle prices has outpaced the decline in retail beef prices.

Consider the average steer price for 2016 was about $121 per hundred pounds of meat, its lowest since 2012, according to the USDA data.

But the 2016 annual average for all fresh beef retail prices — a composite value of beef cuts used to estimate the average retail value of total beef production — was about $5.73 per pound, significantly less than $6.03 in 2015 but still an increase of more than 22 percent from $4.69 in 2012.

That’s in part because retailers have taken the opportunity to recoup some of the profits lost two years ago, Zimmerman said.

But rising per capita incomes in the U.S. and a strong export market for American beef also have kept demand high.

Those retail price figures also don’t reflect savings through advertisements, Zimmerman said. Beef advertisements in particular are considered key in driving foot traffic for the four major grilling holidays — Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.

Deflationary food prices have led consumers back to the meat counter, according to a recent Food Marketing Institute report titled “The Power of Meat.”

And while shoppers still consider price per pound the top consideration, they’re also increasingly shopping for attributes they consider to be more healthful or more sustainable, such as organic and grass-fed beef, the report said.